The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Video conferencing provides an environment for users at different locations to discuss problems and work collaboratively. Many multi-national companies use video conferencing to provide low-cost face-to-face meetings between colleagues at remote locations. To enhance communications at those meetings, some video conferencing systems use computer generated images or presentations to be simultaneously broadcasted to participants either in a pop-up window or as an alternate switchable display on the video monitors.
Moreover, the mobile revolution has led to rampant use of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, that include video cameras, which in turn has fueled wide adoption of video conferencing using the mobile devices. In the course of conducting a video conference using the mobile devices, the mobile devices transmit and receive video information from other parties in the video conference.
However, existing video conferencing systems are very restricted, with many mainstream multimedia sources and features yet to be introduced in the video conferencing realm. Therefore, an opportunity arises to incorporate live video streams from external video cameras into a video conference. Improved user experience and engagement and higher customer satisfaction and retention may result.